HAGERSTOWN, Md., April 22, 2018 – The Monroe College baseball team closed out a weekend road trip down to West Virginia and Maryland by splitting a doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Hagerstown Community College. Antonio Frias turned in a brilliant performance in Game 1 to lead the Mustangs to a 3-0 victory, but the Mustangs dropped the finale by a score of 6-4. Monroe moves to 25-11-1 on the year with the split, while Hagerstown goes to 21-17.
 
Game 1: Monroe 3, Hagerstown 0
The Mustangs did all of their damage in the top of the fourth inning in Game 1. Iasid Bernal got on base with a leadoff walk. With one down, Lenyn Napoleon doubled to left to put two runners in scoring position. Monroe then got its first run when a balk brought in Bernal. Gustavo Gonzalez then walked, and followed that up by stealing second. With two outs, Joel Paulino ripped a double to right, scoring Napoleon and Gonzalez to take a 3-0 lead.
 
Frias took a no-hitter into the fifth inning in Sunday's opener, and after a leadoff single by Tanner Helms in that frame, he continued to shut down the Hawks the rest of the way. Frias allowed just the one hit and no runs across the complete seven innings, striking out 11 batters along the way. He has not allowed an earned run in four straight starts and improves to 6-0 on the season with the win. Hagerstown starter Colby Shimmel went seven innings and allowed three runs to shoulder the loss and fall to 5-2.
 
Paulino went 1-for-3 with a two-run double to help lift the Mustangs to victory in Game 1. Napoleon batted 1-for-3 with a double of his own. Bernal, Napoleon and Gonzalez each scored a run in the game.
 
Game 2: Hagerstown 6, Monroe 4
Things got off to a rough start for Monroe in Game 2, as the Hawks managed to bring two runs across in the bottom of the first for a quick 2-0 lead. Hagerstown added to its lead shortly after by scoring a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second to go up, 3-0.
 
The Mustangs completely erased the deficit in the top of the third after their bats woke up. Joseph Encarnacion beat out a single to third to lead off the inning, and then Edwin Feliciano Jr. hit a single up the middle to put runners on the corners. Ryan Hartigan brought in Monroe's first run with a groundout to second, making it a 3-1 game. Troy Davern then tripled to deep center to score Feliciano and draw within a run. Shadrach Meulens then hit a fly ball to center, deep enough to bring in Davern on a sacrifice fly and tie the game at 3-3.
 
The stalemate did not last for long, as the Hawks got back on the board with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third to take a 4-3 advantage. Hagerstown made it a 6-3 game in the bottom of the fifth with another pair of runs.
 
The Mustangs tried to rally back in the top of the seventh, adding a run on a pinch-hit RBI single by Bernal with two away, but that was all the Mustangs could muster up as they fell by two runs.
 
Hagerstown starter Robbie Houck picked up the win after allowing four runs in the full seven innings. Andrew Pena shouldered the loss for Monroe to fall to 2-2.
 
Davern hit 1-for-4 with an RBI triple and a run scored in Sunday's finale. Encarnacion scored twice after going 1-for-2. Meulens finished 1-for-2 with an RBI.
 
Monroe takes a few days off before heading down to West Windsor, N.J. to take on Mercer County Community College for a nine-inning game on Friday, April 27. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 18 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's rugby, and the newly added club women's rugby team, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Monroe Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has six teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level as of the fall of 2017.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe College Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).